São Paulo – The Brazilian industry last year reached its highest machinery exports in history, the Brazilian Association of the Machinery and Equipment Industry (ABIMAQ) reported. Brazil grossed USD 14 billion from these sales in 2023, up 14.6% from a year earlier.
At a press conference, Cristina Zanella, director of Competitiveness, Economics and Statistics at ABIMAQ, said that exports were surprising. “When we look at the results compared to the historical data series, 2023’s data are 13% higher than 2012’s, which had been the best result in the industry,” said Zanella.
The executive says that this is the greatest news for the machinery and equipment industry. “We managed to export a lot despite a global situation of relative slowdown. We see many countries around the world increasing interest rates to curb inflation, which ends up influencing the domestic activity of these countries, and yet we managed to export a lot in 2023,” she said.
ABIMAQ Foreign Market director Patrícia Gomes said there’s no specific factor to explain the record high in exports, but she highlights the purchases of the United States, which accounted for a relevant share as a destination, and points out that companies are encouraged by ABIMAQ to participate in foreign trade promotion actions.
As the domestic consumption of machinery wasn’t positive, she also contemplates that industries may have sought alternatives abroad. “I hope this hasn’t been the reason and the companies that operate in the international market remain so that we can maintain this figure and even increase it,” she said. ABIMAQ forecasts that exports will grow nearly 1% in 2024, which is deemed good due to the current level.
The Brazilian machinery and equipment industry output had not a good performance in general last year. Net revenue was down 11% year on year, to BRL 285.9 billion (USD 57.7 million) due to the results of domestic sales. The good export performance alleviated the results, though.
Translation by Guilherme Miranda
